CHENNAI: After Deccan Chronicle reported about the bleak response of the public on Swachhta mobile app launched by the Union government last year with an aim to address civic related issues as part of the ambitious Swachh Bharat Mission in Chennai, Greater Chennai Corporation took various measures to sensitise about the usage of the application, which led to increased usage of the app within a month.
Chennai ranked at 64 at the national level regarding registration of complaints using the app has now improved to 29th rank among 4041 local bodies. The number of users of the app in Chennai has increased from 4,460 to 5,854 within a month. Indore, which scored highest among all local bodies has been left behind by Chennai in the usage of the app currently.
“Greater Chennai corporation undertook campaigns to create awareness on the usage of the Swachhta mobile app focusing on youngsters who are the largest number of smart phone users in the city and thus, awareness campaigns were held in schools, colleges and software companies. We also distributed pamphlets and banners as part of an awareness rally conducted in the city,” said health education officer T G Srinivasan.
Currently, of a total number of complaints received, around 80.2 percent of the total civic issues were resolved. With around 70 per cent of satisfied users, Swachhta app has gained popularity among the school and college students. “I had reported issues on a garbage dump in St Thomas Mount and it was resolved in two days. If more people use it like using social media, civic issues can be addressed timely and easily, as Swachhta application is available for free which people can download and upload a picture of the place where any civic problem is witnessed. The location is tracked automatically through the GPS system,” said K. Vaishali, a resident of St Thomas Mount.
